REVIEW: Fleetwood Mac Live in Ottawa

By SHANE ROSS - Sun Media

OTTAWA - Not they don't still look pretty darn good, but listening to Fleetwood Mac and wondering who's sleeping with who just doesn't have the same appeal as it did 30 years ago.

Did Stevie Nicks and Mick Fleetwood get it on before the show? Who cares? Probably not even Lindsey Buckingham.

He's already told her to go her own way. She went.

But she's back, again, still sexy at 60. They were all back last night at Scotiabank Place. All except Christine McVie, who declined to join her ex -- bassist John McVie -- and the four other bandmates for the tour, which kicked off March 1 in Pittsburgh and heads to Montreal tonight and Toronto on Thursday.

That left Nicks as the only woman in the band that became known in the 1970s as much for their tangled love lives as their chart-toppping hits.

"As you know, Fleetwood Mac has a convoluted and emotional history," Buckingham wink-winked to the 14,000 fans last night.

Yes, we know. Their 1978 Grammy-winning album, Rumours, filled us in. Stevie-Lindsay, Mick-Stevie, John-Christine, Christine-lighting guy-etc. It's what gave songs like Go Your Own Way, Second Hand News and Dreams an almost voyeuristic feel.

Teenage imagination, run wild.

Anyway, time heals all wounds. As Buckingham said last night, "We take breaks, long breaks, and every time we reconvene it's a little different. This time, we just said let's go out and have some fun."

They stuck to the plan last night. On drums, Fleetwood -- the ponytail, so prominent on the Rumours album cover, now grey -- sported a perma-grin. Buckingham teased the crowd by hinting at an upcoming album. "With no album to promote -- yet," he said, "we thought we'd sing the songs we all love."

And Nicks was warm and engaging in her black top and grey skirt -- and later, ruby dress and gold shawl, and even later, black dress and top hat -- that flowed when she swayed and twirled in that familiar hippie-like dance.

Proof of the reconciliation was in the encore. Stevie's Silver Springs, which reportedly caused a row when Mick cut it from Rumours, was the closer last night. Apology apparently accepted.

So while there may not have been much sexual tension on stage last night -- Stevie did lay her head tenderly on Lindsay's shoulder at the end of Sara -- there was plenty of good music. The songs stand up on their own, without the "convoluted history."

They sang most of their greatest hits last night, but not all. They couldn't, not without Christine. Over My Head, You Make Lovin' Fun, and Little Lies wouldn't be the same without her distinct lead vocals. Nicks and Buckingham attempted Say That You Love Me, which was sung by McVie on their self-titled album, but it didn't sound quite right. Nicks fared better on the second verse of Don't Stop, which was McVie's. But, hey, if Bill Clinton could sing it during his 1993 presidential campaign, anybody can.

Regardless, Nicks and Buckingham sing vocals on enough Fleetwood Mac hits to easily fill out a three-hour concert. If it was Nicks, instead, who wasn't there, they wouldn't have attempted Rhiannon, Gypsy and certainly not her solo hit, Stand Back.

And that was a pretty good tradeoff.

INTRODUCING "MyMickTV"

Mick Fleetwood and his assistant Karol will be carrying a Flip MinoHD camera and will be shooting behind the scenes footage of his life both on and off the road.

Some of the upcoming weekly webisodes on MyMickTV will include a backstage tour of Mick's dressing room at Madison Square Garden, Mick offering wine tips, Mick in Private jets, doing media interviews and CD signings, in short, Micks life on the road and at home in between "Unleashed" gigs.

Roland Woerner, heading up the Fourtress film and editing team of Fourtress Development Group, LLC said, "Mick has granted us unprecedented access to his world both on a personal and professional level. He understands the power and excitement of new media and has given us the green light to share his story with a global audience. With an instant online delivery system to millions of viewers, this is the ultimate reality show that's available 24/7."

The Premier Episode has Mick packing in LA and getting ready to head to Pittsburgh for the first show of Fleetwood Mac's "Unleashed" tour.

Episode 2 has been posted on MyMickTV.com regarding his association with Fleming's Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar.

LINKS to Bookmark

MyMickTV.com

MyMickTV (on Youtube)

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"BLUE AGAIN" the new live cd release from The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band feat. Rick Vito is in stores now. It climbed to the #1 spot on the blues chart at itunes the day of release and was in the top 20 of all music sales for two days.

Listen to full cd tracks here

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MEET MICK FLEETWOOD

Mick is scheduled to visit 8 Costco stores this fall in

September and November throughout Arizona and

Nevada with additional dates to be announced. 

Visit Mick Fleetwood Private Cellar Wine 

for his full schedule

STEVIE SCHEDULED ON LATE NIGHT WITH JIMMY FALLON

STEVIE NICKS is scheduled to be on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Wednesday, April 1, 2009.

Not sure if this will be a performance with interview or just performance - but she'll be on promoting "The Soundstage Sessions" CD along with the "Live in Chicago" DVD.

Jimmy Fallon is on NBC weeknights at 12:35 / 11:35 central.

REVIEW: Fleetwood Mac Live in NYC "A weekend replete with Fleetwood Mac was exactly what I needed"

Fleetwood Mac Soothe Kim Stolz’s Soul With NYC Gig
by Kim Stolz
MTV Newsroom

A weekend replete with Fleetwood Mac was exactly what I needed to detox from the wrangles and chaos that was MTV Spring Break 2009. Sure, I may have spent a full month’s salary on my ticket, but it was worth every penny. I’ve fallen in love with indie-pop bands over the years like the Knife and Animal Collective, and recently I’ve fallen in a type of lust for hip-hop artists like Drake, Lil Wayne and Charles Hamilton, but my heart undoubtedly beats steady and strong for the classic rock I grew up with — specifically, Fleetwood Mac.

I’ve spent hours watching the video for “Silver Springs” from the Dance Tour, and I am obsessed with any DJ that mixes Fleetwood Mac along with the more “club-worthy” sounds of Kanye, Lady Gaga, Crystal Castles … you get the picture. So, when I found out that Stevie, Lindsey, John and Mick (Christine McVie seldom performs with the band, except for an occasional U.K. appearance) were doing a Hits Tour, I dropped everything and bought tickets to two of their shows in the NY area.

Wearing the first of several scarves that would make appearances throughout the show, Stevie took the stage — along with Lindsey and the rest of the band — and began “Monday Morning.” The set then went on to include “The Chain,” “Sara,” “Rhiannon,” “Tusk” (which was surprisingly sonically satisfying even without horns), “Stand Back” (also surprising but very exciting) and the other likely suspects of a Fleetwood Mac Hits Tour.

With the epic and tragic — but also media-friendly — tale that was the love story of Lindsey and Stevie, it’s hard to decipher how much of their onstage tension and affection is genuine and how much is part of the show. Fleetwood Mac and “Silver Springs”-obsessed, I have to believe that it’s real and crave even the shortest glance between them. In the beginning of the show, Lindsey spoke about their decades-long affair and “emotional and tumultuous history,” adding that “each time we come together, it’s always different. … We’re always moving in a forward motion and we decided that this time, we’re just going to have fun.” Still, though, in the moments where they sang the most heart-wrenching of lyrics — written for each other — you could see a certain look in their eyes, which, to me, was a clear example of the years of practice in keeping their lives separate and, in a sense, an attempt to hide the residual feelings, which never seemed to vanish.

During “Go Insane,” it dawned on me that — more so than the Fleetwood Mac concerts I’d watched on television — this particular set could almost be classified as “The Lindsey Show.” Of course, the vast majority of the audience kept their eyes on Stevie as she twirled around, creating a hypnotizing silhouette, leaving the stage and coming back from time to time with different scarves. Although she displayed different emotions — another sign that perhaps her fight to close off the feelings for Lindsey is still in full force — Lindsey did most of the speaking, and his songs and guitar solos were a major focus of the show.

Their second encore began with “Don’t Stop,” and as the rest of the audience swelled with joy and sang every lyric, my heart sank a little bit, fearing that “Silver Springs” would be left out of the Hits Tour. But a few minutes later, the chimes that commence the track echoed in the arena and, holding hands, Stevie and Lindsey began the song, seemingly symbolizing an emerging friendship between the two. However, as the painful and extremely personal lyrics continued, Lindsey and Stevie barely looked at each other — when Lindsey gave his famous side-glance in Stevie’s direction, her eyes remained fixed on the crowd, almost emotionless at times, and when she turned her head toward him, it was clear she was staring just past him rather than in his eyes.

As far as looking forward, Stevie Nicks has announced a “Live in Chicago” DVD, to be released on April 1. And during the set last night, Lindsey told the audience, “We don’t have a new album to promote … yet!” Before walking off stage for the last time, he thanked the crowd for coming and quelled our panic at the potential for this being their last tour, saying, “We’ll see you next time!” I took a deep breath and immediately updated my Twitter with the good news.

SOUNDSTAGE CD SAMPLER

CD Sampler For

Stevie Nicks

"The Soundstage Sessions"

is now available on Amazon.com

MICK FLEETWOOD RADIO INTERVIEWS

MICK FLEETWOOD was a guest on 104.3 in New York City March 18, 2009

and spoke about the history of Fleetwood Mac, the current tour, his

new blues album and about how "Black Magic Woman"

became a huge hit.

Video Interview March 18, 2009 can be watched and downloaded at

the 104.3 webstie

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MICK FLEETWOOD was a guest on TORONTO, ONTARIO CANADA

radio station 680News - All News Radio with Rudy Blair on March 17, 2009

In this interview Mick is basically promoting everything about Fleetwood Mac and it's solo careers of it's members.  He talks about the Fleetwood Mac tour, his "Blue Again" CD, Stevie's DVD, Lindsey's couple of CD's his put out in the last couple of years and he also gets in that he himself has a DVD coming out with the Blues Band.

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MICK FLEETWOOD was a guest on ST. LOUIS, MO KMOX NEWS RADIO

The Voice of St. Louis on January 8, 2008 just prior to his concert

at the Sheldon February 8, 2008 where his "Blue Again" live CD

was recorded.

REVIEW: Fleetwood Mac Live in East Rutherford, NJ March 21, 2009

FLEETWOOD MAC EXPLORES ITS PAST
by Jay Lustig

The Star-Ledger
March 22, 2009

At Fleetwood Mac's Saturday night Izod Center concert, singer-guitarist Lindsey Buckingham talked about getting together in January, after several years apart, to rehearse for the current tour. Band members told each other "Let's just have fun," he said.

At the Meadowlands, Buckingham, seemed to be doing just that, belting out songs, taking long, flamboyant guitar solos and stomping around the stage. Drummer Mick Fleetwood also seemed to be enjoying himself immensely -- every time the video camera caught his face in a closeup, he was smiling like a mischievous schoolboy who just got away with an outrageous prank. Bassist John McVie didn't seem to be having fun, or experiencing much emotion of any kind. Then again, he's been a stoic figure throughout his 40-plus years with the band, so it would have been foolish to expect anything else of him.

The biggest problem with the show was that singer Stevie Nicks, who co-fronts the band with Buckingham, didn't seem to get the fun memo. Granted, most of the songs she sang, such as "Dreams," "Sara," "Gypsy" and "Rhiannon," are low-key affairs, powered by subtle hooks and an air of mystery. But she sang them so half-heartedly they didn't exert their usual charm. It wasn't until the second half of the show, on songs like "Stand Back" and "Gold Dust Woman," that she seemed fully engaged.

Nicks' diffidence didn't kill the show: the repertoire the band has assembled over the years is too indestructible for that. But it kept a solid show from becoming transcendent.

The band's history goes back to the British blues-rock explosion of the '60s, But it wasn't until the mid-'70s, when the lineup settled on Fleetwood, McVie, Buckingham, Nicks and McVie's then-wife Christine McVie, that Fleetwood Mac became a hit-making machine. This is the band's second tour without Christine McVie, who retired from touring in 1998.

It's also a rare example of a Fleetwood Mac tour that doesn't follow the release of a new studio album. The band isn't necessarily done with recording, though. "We do not have a new album to promote -- yet," said Buckingham, as part of his "Let's just have fun" speech.

The four band members, who range in age from 59 (Buckingham) to 63 (John McVie), were joined by three other musicians and three backing vocalists at the Meadowlands. A sped-up beat added some urgency to "Monday Morning," while "Never Going Back Again" was slowed down to a melodramatic crawl. Singing together, Buckingham and Nicks turned Christine McVie's "Say You Love Me" into a lovers' duet, and Nicks sang McVie's parts on "Don't Stop." The band reached back to one of its earlier incarnations for the explosive blues-rock song "Oh Well" (written by the band's original frontman, Peter Green).

Buckingham shined on "Oh Well," as well as several other songs that gave him the opportunity to stretch out on guitar ("Second Hand News," "I'm So Afraid," "Go Your Own Way"). Mick Fleetwood also took a long solo during the first encore, "World Turning," though he is really at his best offering propulsive support to the rest of the band, not pounding away on his own.

Since the band doesn't have a new album to take up slots in the setlist, it was able to explore some past non-hits. Buckingham resurrected "I Know I'm Not Wrong," a song from the band's 1979 "Tusk" album that brims with manic energy. Nicks also went back to "Tusk" for "Storms," a song that was as calm and pensive as most of her other material, despite lyrics like "Never have I been a blue calm sea/I have always been a storm."

The band closed with "Silver Springs," a Nicks-written song inspired by her failed '70s romance with Buckingham. At times in the past, Nicks and Buckingham have seemed to relive their own stormy history as they performed this song together -- Nicks snarling out the angry lyrics, Buckingham answering with screaming guitar riffs. But on this night, they barely even looked at each other.

They're still in the same band. But in many ways, they seem to live in different worlds now.

REVIEW: Lindsey Buckingham Still Snorting Lines of Something... Fleetwood Mac Live in NYC

FLEETWOOD MAC - MADISON SQUARE GARDEN

Blender.com
by Jonah Weiner
(4 Stars)

When Fleetwood Mac calls a tour “Unleashed: The Hits,” it prompts two questions: No. 1. Will I go to the bathroom during “Dreams?” “Go Your Own Way?” “Tusk?” “Say You Love Me?” The only answer is, I will not go to the bathroom at all, or I will go to the bathroom during my pants. This is the band that put out Rumours, after all – the Thriller of dentist’s waiting rooms! (That is meant as a very big compliment). Question No. 2. “Unleashed?” What leash are they referring to? Mick Fleetwood’s crisp, clockwork drumming? Christine McVie’s airy, lovely, shmaltz, absent this go-round? The need to promote a new album and thus fill a set list with the new, unfamiliar, and unwelcome?

There is no new album on the way, which means they started last night’s Madison Square Garden set with “Monday Morning,” closed it with “Silver Springs,” and played nary a whatsit in between.

Some revelations:

• The band is loud. Surprisingly, rockingly, putting-peers-half-their-age-to-shame-ingly loud.

• Since the mid-‘70s arrival of Cali songbirds Lindsey Buckingham and Stevie Nicks propelled the group from Brit bluesoid also-rans to superstars, you don’t appreciate quite so vividly on record that Mick Fleetwood is the band’s secret weapon. Last night he was great at putting the downbeat where you weren’t expecting it, and whacking his sticks with a hungry clobber without losing the in-the-pocket snap he’s famous for.

• He was also wearing the weird testicle-ball thingies he wears on the cover of Rumours. And sans culottes. Made out of velvet.

• Buckingham has probably quit cocaine by this point in his life. Yet he is still very thin, and ridiculously energized: Every other band member took a break but him. He howled when it wasn’t entirely appropriate, sometimes nowhere near a mic. He is clearly still snorting lines of something. We are guessing crushed wheatgrass.

• Stevie Nicks still twirls across a stage with a lace shawl draped around her shoulders better than anyone else in the business.

• The whole “I’m getting older, too” refrain from “Landslide” gained a new power now that Stevie is thirty-odd years older than when she first sang it. She delivered it with a moving, impossible combination of verve and woundedness – it was one of the night’s biggest applause lines.

• John McVie, stoic in a black-vest-and-white-button-down combo, said not a word, hardly looked up. This is only fair, since your average rhythm section has room for only one extrovert with eyes the size of emu eggs and a penchant for skipping around the stage and cackling.

• Kirsten Dunst and someone we are pretty sure was an Olsen sister, both in attendance, are big Fleetwood Mac fans. Including your Blender correspondent, that made three people in the building who weren’t in college when, like, Millard Fillmore was president. That was so long ago, I’m not even sure Millard Fillmore is actually the name of a president.

• They didn’t play “Beautiful Child.” Sniff.

• Roving merch people were actually selling little tambourines with a sticker of the four current touring Mac members – for $40. Meaning if you bought one and two of the good-seats tickets (see pic right), you were shelling out well over $400 for the evening. (And that assumes you skipped the $13 sushi rolls for sale at concession stands).

Let’s make sure you got that: Next to hot dogs and Bud Light, MSG was selling Sushi. We did not try it, because, ew.

PHOTOS: Fleetwood Mac in New York City "Nicks twirls as the rest of the members of Fleetwood Mac rock on"

HERNAN HERNANDEZ PHOTOS OF MSG (more photos)

LIZBALLER PHOTOS (more pics)

Third Estate Sunday Review: Stevie Nicks, rocking it her way

Third Estate Sunday Review: Stevie Nicks, rocking it her way

"Nicely Done" MICK FLEETWOOD BLUES BAND "Blue Again" (Review)

The Mick Fleetwood Blues Band, “Blue Again” (SLG).
Buffalo News

Though it is now emblematic of the dulcet tones of ’70s California pop, Fleetwood Mac was born a blues band in the latter ’60s, one whose influence was everywhere in the arenas and stadiums of ’70s rock. Originally, drummer Mick Fleetwood, bassist John McVie, and guitarists Peter Green and Jeremy Spencer sprung from the same soil that sprouted Led Zeppelin, Free and the Jeff Beck Group. Tunes like “Rattlesnake Shake,” “The Green Manalishi With the Two-Pronged Crown” and “Black Magic Woman” were vehicles for Green’s gorgeously understated solos, beneath which the Fleetwood-McVie rhythm section toiled like tireless journeymen, shoveling coal in the engine room for all they were worth. It’s that Fleetwood Mac that Mick Fleetwood celebrates with “Blue Again,” a live album that ably documents the fire and finesse of his touring band, led by another Mac alum, guitarist Rick Vito. The disc centers on songs Green wrote— “Looking For Somebody,” “Stop Messin’ Around,” “Rattlesnake Shake,” “Albatross” and the like —and is as much a tribute to Green as it is a paean to the music Fleetwood fell in love with as a teenager with a drum fetish. Nicely done. ★★★( J. M.)

Stevie Nicks, The Soundstage Sessions (Review)

The Independent

Reviewed by Simon Price

Stevie Nicks' voice is one of the musical wonders of the world – she's almost alone in making the concept of adult oriented rock seem enticing and not a soul-crushing bore – so any opportunity to hear it in full flight, such as this televised concert, is welcome.

Though slightly ravaged, her voice remains a miraculous thing, able to make even a Dave Matthews Band song tolerable ("Crash"). Nicks's stripped-down versions of Fleetwood Mac's "Landslide" and "Sara" are things of traffic-stopping beauty.

Pick of the album: Where everyone would love to drown: 'Sara'